- Kenya deputy president ousted in historic impeachment
- Israel military says Sinwar killed in firefight while tracked by drone
- One Direction members 'devastated' by Liam Payne's death
- Norris shrugs off Red Bull 'trick' of the trade at US Grand Prix
- Global stocks climb as ECB cuts rates and tech rebounds
- Chelsea, Lyon ease to wins in Women's Champions League
- China expected to post slowing growth as economic woes drag
- Yamasaki brings keirin world title home as Japan takes two track golds
- Netflix adds millions of subscribers but growth slows
- 'Deeply misguided' to wall US off with tariffs: Yellen
- Biden farewell visit to Berlin focused on Ukraine, Mideast wars
- EU leaders urge new laws to speed up migrant returns
- Sinwar killing a blow to Hamas but impact on war uncertain
- Mitzi Gaynor, star of 'South Pacific,' dies aged 93
- Trump says Zelensky 'should never have let' Ukraine war start
- Harris woos undecided voters as Trump riles critics over Ukraine
- Hayes turns focus to US women's World Cup goal
- Zelensky seeks EU, NATO backing for 'victory plan'
- Bosch stuns Australia as South Africa reach Women's T20 World Cup final
- What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death
- Nicotine pouches rise in popularity as US youth tobacco use hits 25-year-low
- Mendis clinches Sri Lanka series win over West Indies
- Israel says killed Hamas chief Sinwar in Gaza
- Panel urges Secret Service shake-up after Trump assassination bid
- Trump, Harris back on friendly ground after tough interrogations
- Pressure on Ten Hag is 'too much': Brentford boss Frank
- Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar: Israel's most wanted man
- ECB bans transgender women from women's professional cricket
- Monaco aiming to last in Ligue 1 title fight with PSG
- Kenya deputy president impeachment trial in chaos after he falls ill
- English coaches 'capable' of managing national team, says Southampton boss
- Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies retires from international rugby
- Real Madrid fans dismiss 'fake' Mbappe rape reports
- IMF chief calls for unity on shared challenges in 'deeply troubled times'
- Australia post 134-5 in semi-final of women's T20 World Cup
- Tech giants go nuclear in AI arms race
- 1,100 mpox deaths recorded across Africa: CDC
- UK's National Gallery bans liquids after activist art attacks
- Onboard wifi is latest frontline in airline competition
- Instagram moves to face rising tide of sextortion scams
- Tributes to One Direction's Liam Payne after hotel balcony fall
- Bangladesh court issues arrest warrant for ex-leader Hasina
- Israel says 'checking' if Hamas chief Sinwar killed in Gaza
- Victims of Vietnam tycoon's record scam count losses after sentence
- EU leaders talk tough on migration, but divided on action
- Global stocks climb as ECB cut rates and tech rebounds
- Biden heads to Germany to discuss Ukraine, Middle East
- US retail sales pick up pace in September
- Pakistan sense series-levelling win over England after Sajid heroics
- Kenya deputy president falls ill during impeachment trial
CMSD | -0.52% | 25.02 | $ | |
SCS | 0.53% | 13.21 | $ | |
JRI | -0.15% | 13.15 | $ | |
BCC | -3.38% | 142.2 | $ | |
RIO | -1.32% | 65.09 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.52% | 24.79 | $ | |
GSK | -0.64% | 38.96 | $ | |
NGG | -1.41% | 67.19 | $ | |
RBGPF | 1.67% | 60.5 | $ | |
AZN | -0.37% | 78.02 | $ | |
BCE | 0.03% | 33.49 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.68% | 7.35 | $ | |
BTI | -1.22% | 35.37 | $ | |
RELX | 0.91% | 48.59 | $ | |
VOD | -1.23% | 9.73 | $ | |
BP | 1.25% | 31.32 | $ |
Climate change solutions not always good for biodiversity
Some approaches to tackling global warming can have unintended knock-on consequences for nature and the protection of biodiversity, say scientists urging a more coordinated effort on these challenges.
"Sometimes by trying to find a solution to a problem, we risk creating damage elsewhere," Anne Larigauderie at the Intergovernmental Scientific and Political Platform on Biodiversity (IPBES), an expert independent body, told AFP.
The IPBES will publish a report in December on how different crises -- including climate change and biodiversity loss -- are closely related and should be addressed together, not in isolation.
The IPBES and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in 2021 that a siloed approach risked "actions which, inadvertently, prevent the resolution of one or the other problem, or even both."
In Britain, for example, an ostensibly sound policy of planting trees on wetlands backfired when in turn these carbon-rich landscapes dried up, releasing the planet-heating emissions stored in their roots and soil.
- Negative effects -
Climate Action Network, a collective of non-government organisations, has warned against "false solutions" which promise a healthier planet but with a cost to people or ecosystems attached.
Intentionally injecting iron into the oceans, for example, to boost microplankton growth may seem promising but "geoengineering" techniques have raised concerns about potential repercussions.
Alison Smith, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said iron fertilisation was "likely to cause massive environmental damage for uncertain climate gain."
"Measures taken to mitigate climate change must be evaluated according to their overall benefits and risks and not only according to their carbon footprint," said the Foundation for Biodiversity Research in 2022.
Wind turbines produce clean power and reduce the dependence of energy systems on fossil fuels, but can pose a risk to migratory birds or bats in some locations.
And building dams for hydroelectricity can block the passage of fish along waterways, reducing their populations.
- 'Breaking down silos' -
"With crises as vast, complex and interconnected as climate change and biodiversity loss, focusing on one aspect of the problem will never be enough," said Tom Oliver at the University of Reading.
It is "important to look beyond 'sticking plaster fixes'" such as geoengineering, he said, which "can have huge anticipated side effects."
Installing "underwater curtains" to protect glaciers in Antarctica from warming waters -- an idea floated at last year's UN climate summit -- could impede nutrient flow, Lars Smedsrud, from the University of Bergen, wrote in the journal Nature this year.
In the quest for solutions to our biggest and most daunting challenges it is "important to look at the big picture -- not just focus narrowly on climate change," said Smith.
She is one of many experts pushing for nature-based solutions that have "combined benefits for biodiversity, the climate and populations".
A 2020 study in the journal Global Change Biology concluded that "nature-based interventions were most often shown to be as effective or more so than alternative interventions for addressing climate impacts."
And it is in preserving existing ecosystems, rather than trying to recreate new ones, that the potential is greatest.
A 2023 study in Nature found that simply protecting existing forests and leaving them alone to regenerate would deliver considerable carbon removal benefits.
"There is no one single silver bullet -- we need to do everything we can, across all sectors, countries and methods," said Smith.
"Breaking down silos is the only way forward that won't cause more problems than it solves."
O.Krause--BTB